Goliad man had dreams of following in Dad's footsteps

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A.J. Ripps' family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to an account established for his daughter. Click here.

A.J. Ripps had aspirations of being a state trooper.

"My younger brother is a sergeant with DPS and I was a state trooper back in the '70's," said Ripps' father, Johnny Ripps. "It was A.J.'s dream."

Ripps, 25, of Goliad, died Monday from injuries suffered in a Sunday traffic crash in Goliad County.

He worked alongside his father for more than two years as a correctional officer at the Connally Unit in Kenedy. He was a driver for Arnold Oil in Victoria at the time of his death.

The father of one daughter, Ripps will be remembered during a memorial service at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Rosewood Funeral Chapel, 3304 E. Mockingbird Lane in Victoria.

"This will be an informal gathering of friends and family to join in a celebration of A.J.'s life," his father posted on Facebook.

The senior Ripps also posted that his son was an organ donor.

"Through his organ donations, A.J. will live on by giving the gift of life to others," he wrote. "Also, by special request some of his gifts can only be received by wounded warriors returning home from the battlefields."

Within an hour after being accepted into the organ donor program, one match had already been made, his father said.

Ripps was a 2005 graduate of Goliad High School.

His MySpace page also reveals something else about his character and his dreams.